For thousands of years, the monsoon winds carried sailors from the east to the shores of Africa to trade in its richness – ivory, rhino horn, animal skins were exchanged for eastern spices, cloth, gold and silver. The sea trade gave rise to towns like Lamu, giving rise to the famed Swahili culture of the East African Coast.

Lamu Old Town is seven hundred years old, vibrant with its rich legacy.  In 2001, it was declared a World Heritage Site, and with it came the annual Lamu Cultural Festival to showcase the unique Swahili heritage of the Lamu Archipelago.

Booking your stay at Kipungani Explorer gives you an opportunity to discover Lamu as you enjoy the relaxing and richly romantic exeperience that Kipungani Explorer is known for.  

For our guests, The three day festival (20-22 Nov, 2009) organized by the Lamu Cultural promotion group, was full of song, dance and poetry by celebrated Swahili artists, and also featured a Swahili bridal ceremony including the henna ceremony and the seafront donkey and dhow races.

Lamu Fort also hosted a series of exhibitions including a poster exhibition on ‘Bombay Africans (1850 -1910)’ depicting the lives of the slaves taken from Africa to the east and a wonderful expo of Kangas the traditional cotton cloth used by Swahili women to drape around themselves. ‘Kanga Stories’ narrates the social meanings usually of a philosophical context inscribed on the cloth. 
 
The 18th century ‘Dheule Mosque’ in Shela now restored to its former beauty of Swahili architecture was officially opened and ‘Lamu, Kenya’s Enchanted Island’ a superb coffee table book was also launched during the festival.

The Lamu Cultural festival celebrates all that is the Lamu archipelago – its stunning beaches, its rich history of sea and trade; architecture, culture and people. Lamu is simply where history continues to live.

Discover for yourself the wonders of this ancient Arabian island-paradise of Lamu - book your stay at Kipungani Explorer